City of Euless v. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Bd., 05-95-00479-CV

• Decision Date: 20 November 1996
• Docket Number: No. 05-95-00479-CV,05-95-00479-CV
• Citation: 936 S.W.2d 699
• Parties: The CITY OF EULESS, Texas, and the city of Grapevine, Texas, Appellants v. DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BOARD, a joint board of the city of Dallas, Texas and the city of Fort Worth, Texas, American Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines, Inc., United Parcel Service Co., Inc., and Attorney General of Texas, Appellees
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 699

936 S.W.2d 699

The CITY OF EULESS, Texas, and the city of Grapevine, Texas, Appellants v. DALLAS/FORT WORTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT BOARD, a joint board of the city of Dallas, Texas and the city of Fort Worth Texas, American Airlines, Inc., Delta Air Lines, Inc. United Parcel Service Co., Inc., and Attorney General of Texas, Appellees

No. 05-95-00479-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas Dallas.

Nov. 20, 1996.

Robert H. Power, Christopher J. Caso, Power & Deatherage, Irving, Clarence A. Guittard, Guittard, Hyden & Guittard, P.C., Dallas, Don Rorschach, City Attorney, Irving, Paul F. Wieneskie, Cribbs & McFarland, Arlington, for appellants.

Mike Joplin, David J. LaBrec, P. Michael Jung, Strasburger & Price, L.L.P., Dallas, Kevin E. Cox, Fort Worth, Mike McKool, Jr., Eric W. Buether, Richard A. Lempert, McKool, Smith, P.C., Peter Winn, Assistant Attorney General, Dallas, for appellees.

Before MALONEY, MORRIS, and HANKINSON, JJ.

OPINION

HANKINSON, Justice.

This case presents an appeal in a declaratory judgment action. On remand from the Texas Supreme Court to consider the validity, constitutionality, and applicability of 1993 amendments to the Texas Municipal Airports Act ("the Act"), ¹ the trial court declared that the amended Act preempts certain zoning ordinances enacted by the suburban Cities of Irving, ² Euless, and Grapevine ("the Cities") and is constitutional.

In seven points of error, the Cities challenge the constitutionality of the amended Act. In one point of error, the Cities challenge the trial court's interpretation of one provision in the amended Act that withdraws their eminent domain power over roadways located within the geographic boundaries of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport ("D/FW Airport"). Because City of Irving v. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board, 894 S.W.2d 456 (Tex.App.--Fort Worth 1995, writ denied), moots the Cities' constitutional challenge, we dismiss for want of a continuing justiciable controversy the Cities' cause to the extent that it seeks declaratory relief as to the constitutional issues. We affirm the trial court's judgment in all other respects because the trial court correctly interpreted the amended Act.

BACKGROUND

In 1968, the Cities of Dallas and Fort Worth established a joint airport board ("the Board") pursuant to the Act. The Board operates the D/FW Airport. The Cities, which annexed the territory where D/FW Airport was to be located, did not attempt through zoning to interfere with the establishment or initial operation of D/FW Airport.

In 1989, the Board announced plans to expand D/FW Airport by constructing two new runways and other airport facilities. The proposed expansion's purpose was to improve the safety and efficiency of D/FW Airport by accommodating increased aviation demand. By this time, D/FW Airport had become the second busiest airport in the world. The Cities opposed the expansion, and in late 1989 and early 1990, enacted zoning ordinances purporting to regulate D/FW Airport's expansion and operation.

In April 1990, the Board sought a declaratory judgment that the Act and various federal statutes and regulations preempted the zoning ordinances. Three primary users of D/FW Airport, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Parcel Service, intervened as plaintiffs. The Cities counterclaimed for a declaration that the zoning ordinances were not preempted, or alternatively, that the Act was unconstitutional under the "home rule" amendment to the Texas Constitution. See TEX. CONST. art. XI, § 5.

The trial court rendered a declaratory judgment that neither the Act nor the federal statutes and regulations preempted the zoning ordinances. The trial court dismissed without prejudice as moot the Cities' conditional declaratory judgment action concerning the Act's constitutionality. This Court affirmed the declaratory judgment on the preemption issues. See Dallas/Fort Worth Int'l Airport Bd. v. City of Irving, 854 S.W.2d 161 (Tex.App.--Dallas) ("DFW I"), vacated without reference to merits, 868 S.W.2d 750 (Tex.1993).

In 1993, while DFW I was pending before the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 348, which amended the Act and gave joint airport boards sole authority to exercise eminent domain power within the airport's geographic boundaries as those boundaries may be expanded:

If the constituent public agencies of a joint board are populous home-rule municipalities, these powers are exclusively the powers of the board regardless of whether all or part of the airport, air navigation facility, or airport hazard area is located within or outside the territorial limits of any of the constituent public agencies, and another municipality, county, or other political subdivision shall not enact or enforce a zoning ordinance, subdivision regulation, construction code, or any other ordinance purporting to regulate the use or development of property applicable within the geographic boundaries of the airport as it may be expanded.

Act of May 6, 1993, 73rd Leg., R.S., ch. 94, § 1, 1993 Tex. Gen. Laws 181, 182, amended by Act of May 23, 1995, 74th Leg., R.S., ch. 165, § 1, 1995 Tex. Gen. Laws 1025, 1052-53 (current version at TEX. TRANSP.CODE ANN. § 22.074(d) (Vernon Pamph.1997)). Following the passage of Senate Bill 348, the Texas Supreme Court vacated this Court's judgment in DFW I and remanded the case to the trial court to consider the validity, constitutionality, and applicability of Senate Bill 348. Dallas/Fort Worth Int'l Airport Bd. v. City of Irving, 868 S.W.2d 750 (Tex.1993) ("DFW II"). The Board announced that it would begin constructing the new runways after the legislature passed Senate Bill 348.

On remand, after appellees filed a motion for summary judgment, the trial court rendered a final declaratory judgment that the Act, as amended by Senate Bill 348, preempts the Cities' zoning ordinances with unmistakable clarity and denied the Cities' constitutional challenge to Senate Bill 348. The trial court then denied all relief not specifically granted or contemporaneously severed into another action and dismissed for want of a present justiciable controversy certain claims concerning the proper construction of Senate Bill 348. Finally, the trial court severed issues related to the recovery of attorney's fees and consolidated them with another action pending in the trial court. This appeal followed.

While the case was pending on remand in the Dallas County trial court, the 96th District Court of Tarrant County rendered a declaratory judgment, which upheld the constitutionality of Senate Bill 348, in companion litigation among the parties. The constitutional issues adjudicated in the Tarrant County action encompassed all of the constitutional challenges raised by the Cities in the Dallas County trial court. After the trial court granted summary judgment in the Dallas County case, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals affirmed the Tarrant County trial court's summary judgment. City of Irving v. Dallas/Fort Worth Int'l Airport Bd., 894 S.W.2d 456 (Tex.App.--Fort Worth 1995, writ denied) ("DFW III"). While this appeal was pending, the Texas Supreme Court denied the Cities' application for writ of error and overruled the Cities' motion for rehearing. This Court then directed the parties to file briefs concerning the impact of the supreme court's denial of the application for writ of error in DFW III on this appeal.

DISCUSSION

This appeal involves three general issues. The Cities question the constitutionality of Senate Bill 348 ("the constitutional issues") and the interpretation of one provision of Senate Bill 348 ("the statutory construction issue"). Appellees, in two conditional cross-points of error, question whether federal law and the pre-Senate Bill 348 version of the Act preempt the Cities' zoning ordinances ("the preemption issues"). We review these questions of law de novo. See In re Humphreys, 880 S.W.2d 402, 404 (Tex.), cert. denied, 513 U.S. 964, 115 S.Ct. 427, 130 L.Ed.2d 340 (1994).

We first address the constitutional issues. In points of error one through six and eight, the Cities complain that the trial court erroneously denied their challenge to Senate Bill 348's constitutionality. They contend that Senate Bill 348 is unconstitutional because it: (1) violates article II, section 56 of the Texas Constitution because it is a special or local law; (2) violates article XI, section 5 of the Texas Constitution by depriving the Cities of their home rule authority and transferring self-government powers from one home rule city to another home rule city; (3) violates article III, sections 63(1) and 64(A) of the Texas Constitution by transferring governmental authority from one political subdivision of the State to another political subdivision; (4) violates the federal Voting Rights Act because it has not been precleared as required by section 5 of that act, see 42 U.S.C.A. § 1973c (West 1994); and (5) violates article I, section 16 of the Texas Constitution by impairing contracts to which the Cities are parties. In DFW III, the Fort Worth Court of Appeals addressed each constitutional issue the Cities raise here and concluded that Senate Bill 348 does not violate any of the provisions the Cities cite. See City of Irving, 894 S.W.2d at 463-70.

Even though the Texas Supreme Court denied their application for writ of error and overruled their motion for rehearing in DFW III, the Cities contend that this Court can rule on the constitutional issues in this case. Appellees disagree, contending that DFW III destroys the controversy concerning the constitutional issues. We agree with appellees.

The purpose of the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act is "to settle and to afford relief from uncertainty and insecurity with respect to rights, status, and other legal relations." TEX.CIV.PRAC. & REM.CODE ANN. § 37.002(b) (Vernon 1986). The Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act has been interpreted to...